Why Putting A Spin On The Ball Can Be Effective

When you first started bowling—or if you’re still relatively new to the sport—your most likely try to send the ball directly down the middle of the lane. This makes sense and can be a very effective way of bowling a strike. However, a hook shot, which involves spinning the ball to make it “hook” or curve towards the end of the shot, has been proven to be a more effective manner of smashing down all of those pesky pins.

The Pins Are Your Friends

When bowling, you should think of the pins as your partners in getting the arrangement to topple over. The pins are numbered from 1 to 10, with the first pin, the one closest to you being the 1 pin, and the one farthest to the right in the back row is the 10 pin. When you bowl a strike with the ball going straight down the middle, you are striking the 1 pin straight on. Then the 1 pin is hitting the 2 and 3 pins. These can then send the 6 and 4 pins towards the ones in the corners in the back row, the 7 and 10 pins, while the ball goes straight down the middle taking care of the 5, 8, and 9 pins.

However, if this isn’t done perfectly, some pins will either not get hit at all, or get hit too lightly to have the desired effect. The 5 pin, the one in the middle, may get hit too lightly because it’s protected by the three pins in front of it. A hook shot sends the ball into the side between either the 1 and 3 or the 1 and 2 pins. It can then barrel into the five pin or send another pin into it. The ball’s momentum when it gets to the middle of the pins is greater because it wasn’t slowed down as much by the 1 pin. This gives it more impact and makes strike much more likely.